Fuji Finepix F401 or Canon A40?

Guest

Previously had a Fuji 2600 before it died on me, only had it a few weeks, and getting my money back so need to decide on a replacement.

Quite like the look of the Fuji 401, 2mill pixels and sits in a cradle for easy transfer of images. Also quite thin or I've seen several good reports on the Canon A40 (and lots of other Canon's actually!).

Anyone got any positive/negative feedback about the 2 models above? Would like something in the region of between 2 and 4 megapixels and don't wanna spend anything more than about £350 if possible. Currently the 401 is about £315, the A40 about £200!

Standard Member

I looked at the canon A40 before finally settling on the S45. Thisis a great little camera with a lot of creative features. It was incredibly easy to use for simple point and shoot but had all the controls to override the auto settings. Would have gone for this camera if it wasnt for the resolution. Things I liked about it were:
Size
Uses AA batteries
Simple controls
Well thought out menu

Active Member

Sorry Beavis, you are correct, my mistake. I checked my local Dixons shop window on my way home & it is the F402 for £299.99.
I should have known really, how often are Dixons the cheapest!!!!!!!!!
Still, the F401 is available online for about £310 including docking station.
I will pay attention more carefully next time!

* It is quite large - jacket pocket rather than shirt pocket - but this means it's good to hold - good ergonomics - and solid quality feel.
* Takes 4 x AA's; it only comes with alkalines (last a day), so you'll need to buy 8 high power NiMH rechargeables.
* Auto settings are excellent, but it is one of the few (at this price) to offer manual over-rides of most settings.
* Excellent at low-light & long shutter-speed night shots.
* No problems at all integrating with my XP PC.
* There's a great users forum here - http://forums.powershot-a.com/ - where you can checkout loads of sample pix.
* Bought from Amazon for £200 with free 32MB card (offer no longer running).

Guest

Went to Currys on the way home but seriously not a good place to buy a digi camera (not that I would anyways!), as they are all behind a glass cabinet and everytime I handled one I felt that the store's security cameras were zooming in on my every move!!!

From what I saw, the Powershot G2, was bulky but not as heavy as I thought, Currys were selling this for £499, the Fuji Finepix 401 looked very slim and cool, but only 2mill pixels@£349 and the Canon A40 felt alot heavier but solid. Also tried the Fuji F601 but don't think I could get use to the funny grip!

Any further feedback welcome, and I'll post a review of whatever camera I get!

Standard Member

Id be severely tempted. Heres a quick brain dump of why (it was a couple of months back so I may get things wrong):

G2: Better lens
Flash hot shoe
Better in camera flash
fold out LCD
Better battery life and I think you can have in camera charging/AC adapter included (S45 needs you to buy AC adapter and battery has to be takenout to be charged)

S45: Improved autofocus
Selectable autofocus point(literally anywhere in frame but you could argue that its only slightly easier than using AF lock)
Custom setting that allows you to save commonly used settings
Improved menu (its much easier than the G2/S40)
Was cheaper than G2 when I was looking!!!
Supposedly better processing with digic chip, cant provide quantifiable evidence of what it means

I had a budget of £200 which I stretched to £400 at the time I couldnt justify the extra £100 for the G2, but at £430 for the G2 I would most probablyvalue the practical extras of teh G2 over the S45 more than the technological improvements of the S45 over the G2.

Active Member

Originally posted by beavis Some people say go for a S30,S40 or S45 as it's newer technology than the G2 which has been out for a year...

Click to expand...

The S45 uses newer technology than the G2 but not the S40. Basically, the S40 is a shrunken down G2 and the S45 is a shrunken down G3.

The S45 is a very nice camera but, if you are happy with the bigger size, I'd say the G2 is the one to go for. I'd also have a look at the Sony DSC-S85 as well - it's specs are very similar to the G2 - it actually outperformed the G2 for resolution on dpreview.com - having said that the Canon offers better storage options and has a more powerful flash.

I've been toying with the idea of getting something like this myself - I think the battery life is a really important issue i.e. something that you will really appreciate when it comes to using the camera every day and that's why I think I would go for an S85 or G2 rather than the compact S40/S45.